Since I have this big interview Monday I thought it would be fitting that my first blog post should be about how much I absolutely HATE job interviews. I am currently employed but circumstances have come to me now needing a second job. Hopefully me already having a job will decrease some of the desperateness I think I have given off in my previous interviews.
Generally I am a shy person, add that with being put in a situation where I have to put myself in the spotlight and you have me looking painfully awkward. I do believe that my shyness/ awkwardness has cost me more than one job. Let's face it: if you can't sell yourself, no one is buying ( maybe that wasn't the best way to put that...).
As a shy girl the worst types of interviews for me would be the group interviews. Whoever came up with that idea must have been smoking a good grade of crack that day. Basically interviews where you are in a group come down to survivors of the fittest. I have actually been in group interviews where some of the applicants put the others down to make themselves look better. Did this work for them? I don't know, but I can say with 100% authority that being shy and modest does not.
The one on one interviews are slightly better for me. For me, an interview should be about the skills you posses and how quickly you can be trained. You can't really gauge that in a group but one on one slightly increases your odds. Basically I believe that YOUR interview should be about YOU, not 10 other people all willing to eat each other alive for the same position.
Now for the questions. If you are over 16 and have ever held a job there is a pretty big chance that you know exactly what you will be asked on a job interview. There are the occasional wild cards, but if you are applying to a regular minimum wage job they want to only know the basics. Most employers that I have met mostly want their applicants in and out. Therefore, they ask questions with no frills. Meaning, if you are right for the job you should have no trouble answering them ( of course there are those who tend to become completely petrified and choke up, but that's for another blog post).
My whole issue with the "questions" is that they are so common now that everyone knows what to say. Sounds good, right? Wrong. Now you can go into an interview saying all the right things and still not get hired. This sounds normal in theory ( you have to back up what you say, of course), but what if you have little to none experience in the required field? Then knowing all the right answers is pretty much all you have going for you. Let's take waitressing for example, something that sounds like you don't need to be too qualified in. Before I landed my current job, I applied for dozens of waitress/hostessing positions. All said I had the look and drive, but that they would rather hire someone that didn't need to be trained.
That's what it all comes down to, I think. A lot of employers are taking the easy way out by not hiring people who have no experience though they might have the potential. This causes a dilemma for us young job seekers out there. How are we supposed to gain experience if we aren't given a chance?
If you're like me, maybe you aren't the best at putting yourself on display. So when you are asked why you should be hired you might be able to think of a 100 reasons but just not be able to formulate them or come off as arrogant. However I think that the answer is rarely listened to anyway. These are all the things that will be running in my head for the next two days as I prepare to be dissected....I mean interviewed. Here's to hoping that this one might turn out different.
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